He’s very friendly; even though he was homeless he has been carried by every child in the neighborhood, so he is docile and affectionate.

Actually, he’s a little too affectionate. Now when we pet him, Midnight wants to love us back, so he bites. These are little cat nips, not full blown bites, no skin broken, no blood loss, but they still hurt. What do you do about cat biting?

We don’t want to discourage his love making. The more affection we get, the more he loves it too. We’re just about ready to bring him into the house as we’re letting our three dogs get used to him. We’re training them not to chase and him not to run. This is a challenge unto itself.

I’ve never had the experience of cat biting and I just don’t know the solution to this problem. Do we squirt him with a water gun? That seems harsh to me. What about just saying “no”? Do cats respond to “bad cat” and “good cat”? Do we slap his paw and say “bad boy”?

My cat ownership is very limited as this is my first cat. I do know enough to love and cherish, take him regularly to the vet and get him neutered. I know all the essentials but I don’t know the specifics of how to train a cat.

What would you do? How would you control your cat biting? Do you accept it as a love token and part of the cost of pet ownership? Or is behavior modification desired, or even necessary?

Help me adjust to either the cat biting or show me what cat training tricks I can use to make my cat be affectionate in a less hurtful way.

Photo © j / f / photos

So, what can you do to keep them from feeling alone when you are not at home? I myself didn’t know what to do, until one day I found out that my cat likes music a lot (especially pop music). For this reason I always switch on the radio before I leave the house and let my cat enjoy herself while I am out. You can do the same.

But if you see that your cat feels well when playing, you can consider special toys for cats. Today a lot of pet stores offer a wide range of toys for pets and you can find many interesting toys at any price and quality.

What toys can you buy for your cat to prevent her/him from feeling lonely?

Toy box – This thing greatly interests almost all cats. The first thing you should do is to fill the box with as many toys as possible (the more the toys, the more your cat will be attracted by the toy box). And only before leaving, allow your cat to play with it. It is in cats’ nature to mix everything around themselves and to start picking and choosing. This process may last for hours.

Babble ball – Babble ball is a special mechanism that produces sounds. There is hardly any cat who is indifferent to sounds. It means that your cat will try to find out where these sounds come from, even if he gets tired. Why? Because his curiosity won’t let him calm down without getting an answer.

By the way don’t try to use this pet cat toy at nights when you are at home and sleeping. Your cat may jump into your bed thinking that it is you. I tell you that from my own experience!

Play and treat balls – These balls will also help you to entertain your cat. They are filled with treats which fall out from different sides of the balls as he/she is rolling them. But you should know that these balls are a bit more expensive than other toys ($6.49-$12.96).

There are still many other toys for cats like a cat toy mouse, catnip cigar, cat dancer and charmer. All these toys can be perfect solutions for you cat. Believe me, your cat knows that you are doing that for his sake and he appreciates that.

But don’t forget that although your cat is playing, he/she is always waiting for you to come back. And maybe that is one of the main reasons you keep pets — to have someone to wonder or worry about you when you’re not at home.

Photo © BigTallGuy